Among our florists, Rhododendron Katevbinsky is known as the "Multi-flowered Azalea." The plant is distinguished by winter hardiness and a life span that can reach 100 years.
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Description of the species and varieties
If you make a brief description of the species, then in height the bush under favorable conditions can reach 4 meters. Sometimes a culture can grow up to 6 meters. In a year, the bush adds only 10 cm.
The diameter of the crown of Rhododendron is 2 meters. The bark is brown, the length of the leaves is up to 15 cm. The flowering of azalea is very long - about two months.
Hybrid varieties of Rhododendron of Katevbinsky amaze with their splendor and elegance. The upright "Album Novum" stretches up to 3 meters, blooms in early summer with snow-white buds.
Bourzalt pleases with delightful violet flowers, the diameter of which is about 5 cm. The Grandiflorum is very beautiful, featuring large lilac buds. Variety "Rose Elegance" reaches 3 meters and blooms with pink inflorescences.
Preparation for landing
Landing of the Rhododendron begins with the selection of a suitable site. This plant prefers a little shade, but does not like the shade of buildings. It is advisable to plant azalea next to large trees or shrubs that give openwork partial shade. The best neighbors for Rhododendron are conifers.
It is important to take into account that large trees located nearby should not have surface roots, since they are very quickly interwoven with the root azalea system and will draw all nutrients and moisture from the soil.
If the region has a harsh climate, culture cannot be planted in places without good lighting, but there should be no sun at noon in the selected area. Important and the protection of the site from the north wind. But it is not worth placing the plant on the southern side of the plot, since in the spring it will be too early to snow there, and the azalea will begin to come to life much before the due date. With return frosts, an early awakened shrub on the south side may even die.
Rhododendron Katevbinsky has his own preferences for soil. The plant loves moisture, but in no case should liquid stagnation be allowed. Therefore, it is also impossible to plant a bush in a lowland where water stagnates, or in a site with a close occurrence of groundwater. In the process of planting, drainage is necessarily arranged.
Azalea prefers acidic soil. To fall asleep rhizomes of seedlings, you can use a special soil mixture based on brown peat.
One of the main conditions for growing this demanding plant is the right choice of seedling. On sale you can find planting material grown in Europe. Such plants are unlikely to take root in our climate. Shrubs obtained under similar conditions, for example, in nurseries of Finland, are suitable for the middle lane.
It is not necessary to purchase already adult plants, as they are very poorly tolerated transplant.
The choice should be made on a three-year-old seedling in a container with closed roots. It should not have signs of disease.
Outdoor planting
It is recommended to plant azalea in the spring and throughout the summer. The culture has a compact rhizome, therefore it is quite enough for him to dig a hole about 60 cm wide and 40 cm deep. It is advisable to prepare a pit two weeks before planting.
Before work, the plant is removed from the container and lowered together with a lump of earth into the water. As soon as the bubbles stop flowing, azalea can be planted.
With such measures, it is important that the root neck is not deepened. The shrub is placed at the same depth as it grew in the container. When the specimen is planted, it is abundantly shed and must be mulched with pine litter.
How to care for flowers
This plant needs regular irrigation and weeding. Drying of the soil should not be allowed, but waterlogging is undesirable. Bushes are watered once a week, spending about 50 liters per plant. Azaleas love acidified water. It is recommended to add 10 g of citric acid to a bucket of liquid. It is also possible to deoxidize the soil by pouring a package (40 g) of colloidal sulfur into a circular soil.
After watering, the earth around the azalea is not loosened!
The fact is that Rhododendron grows in close symbiosis with mushrooms and loosening can damage the beneficial azalea mycelium.
In the first year after planting, the bush is not fed. Then they begin to make fertilizers. In the early spring, saltpeter is added, dissolving 15 g of the drug in a liter of water. Then, during the budding period, they are fertilized with mineral complexes. At the end of summer, potassium sulfate is added, which increases the frost resistance of azaleas.
Flowering Rhododendron Katevbinsky
The timing of flowering shrubs depends largely on the climate and variety. And also with violations of agricultural technology, culture can bloom later or not at all, abandon it.
Basically, almost all the hybrids of Rhododendron Katevbinsky open their luxurious buds from May and continue to do so until the end of June. But, it is worth the gardener to allow at least the slightest oversight in caring for such a capricious plant, flowering can never wait.
Winter preparations
Mandatory pre-winter irrigation, which should be carried out about a week before frosts. Melting snow in winter and sudden changes in temperature are detrimental to azaleas - bushes can freeze and break. Therefore, it is so important to mulch around the bore circles, and fix large specimens by tying them to the support. Top Rhododendrons are wrapped with non-woven material.
As soon as the first snow falls, the bushes sprinkle with them. If the branches are too long, the rods are bent to the soil so that they too are wrapped in snow. In the spring, as soon as the melting begins, the shelter is removed.
Breeding methods
The appearance of Rhododendron catawbiense can be propagated in several ways:
- Seeds are sown in January indoors. They are laid out on the surface of the soil and left warm in the light. Young plants are transplanted only in the second year of life.
- For propagation by layering, a small piece of the bark should be removed on the branch and bent to the ground. In a year, layering will grow on this place. Even after the same time, it can be transplanted.
- Cuttings take root too long, because this method is a very troublesome process, which takes a lot of time and effort.
Most flower growers are advised to acquire azaleas in nurseries, as this plant needs experience and knowledge to reproduce.
Use in landscape design
Rhododendron Katevbinsky looks great next to ferns and hosts. An excellent neighborhood is any coniferous culture. The plant is simply indispensable in the design of arbors and outdoor terraces, the entrance to the house. Designers plant azaleas along garden paths and create hedges from them.
Although Rhododendron Katevbinsky is a very capricious plant, its luxurious flowering will be an invaluable reward for the time and energy spent.
